KING STREET ARTS CENTRE & LOFTS

Description:

Complete gutting, renovation and third floor addition to a historic commercial building fronting on Gore Park to accommodate 12 loft-style residential apartments, with a focal ground floor art gallery and artist studios. Exterior LED lighting emphasizes the features of the historical facade of the upper stories. A new highly custom ground floor facade of steel-clad panels and glass includes an oversized custom wood pivoting door to the gallery. Unique finishes, colours and details enliven what might otherwise be a bland apartment building, and speaks to its mission as a downtown renewal catalyst and hub for the burgeoning arts community. [1]

Bold and unapologetic, the new angular curtain wall and faceted metal panel storefront offers a clear delineation from the historic residential façade above. It is accented by an indirect light slot and recessed accent pin lights in the basalt stone tile floor. The storefront is deeply recessed to create emphasis as a public building on the streetscape. It is dynamically angled and sculpted, with a soffit of folded smooth metal panels that wraps down and under the storefront. A thin raw steel railing prevents skateboard damage, and continues the raw steel motif outside, as with the exposed central column.

A massive custom wood pivot door of Brazilian cherry with custom designed pulls adds gravitas to the gallery entrance and is an identifying element on the storefront and streetscape. Rear walls of the top residential floor are clad in a simple corrugated metal siding with varied, patterned windows. The enthusiasm of the tradespeople working on the project is evident in the whimsical cross and “95” inlaid surreptitiously in the rear brick wall as part of the masonry repair work.

The sensitive preservation and integration of heritage features and the robust modern insertions have helped this adaptive reuse transform this building into a potentially powerful catalyst for further neighbourhood renewal, and have created a new hub for Hamilton’s growing arts community. [2]

With a modest $3 Million construction budget, 95 King is a bold and dynamic renovation that includes remarkable attention to inspirational elements and touchstones for the artistic community it houses. Whimsy, warmth, uncommon touches and bold colours allow the project to transcend the ordinary, making this a home for artists, not simply affordable housing. (…)

Fragments and unique traces of the old have been sensitively blended with the new, with featured exposed brick walls, wood ceilings, polished original concrete floors, and original steel columns and beams bearing the insignia of a lost storied local company. [3]

Awards:

Hamilton Urban Design and Architecture Awards , Excellence in Design and Urban Regeneration, 2015

HBSA Award of Excellence, Heritage/Adaptive Reuse, 2014

References:

[1]       “95 King Street East Arts Centre + LOFTS – TCA: Thier + Curran Architects Inc.” TCA. Accessed July 28, 2021. https://www.tcarch.ca/95-king-st-e-arts-centre-lofts.

[2]        “Thier + Curran Architects Transform Hamilton Strip Club to Housing and Cultural Space.” Canadian Architect, December 10, 2013. https://www.canadianarchitect.com/thier-curran-architects-transforms-hamilton-strip-club-to-housing-and-cultural-space/.

[3]        “95 King St E Arts Centre & Lofts.” Architect Magazine, December 12, 2013. https://www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/95-king-st-e-arts-centre-lofts.

Additional information:

Architecture, City, Collaborative, Completed Projects, conservation, Functional, Landscape, Multi Use, ON, ONT, Ontario, Permanent, Play, Private, Urban